


Broken Promises

by analyn100



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Episode: s05e09 100
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-15 13:41:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11807115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/analyn100/pseuds/analyn100
Summary: Being married to a BAU team member can make you a bit paranoid, but it's not paranoia if someone's really out to get you. Alternate ending to episode 100





	1. Chapter 1

Dead. Location compromised.

Haley Hotchner braked at the red light, her heart pounding in her chest. Her eye on her son, playing with his toys in the back seat, completely oblivious. She was less than half a mile from her home - former home that they had shared with Aaron. Aaron. Her late ex-husband.

_Sorry for using your real name, ma'am. My name is Victor Collins. I'm with the Marshall Service._

If her location had been compromised why would he have her come back to her old home? Why would he even dare to use her real name? It was too dangerous. What would Aaron do? What had Marshall Kassmeyer stressed? Safety, anonymity. Something wasn't right.

Green. The light was green. What to do?

She knew what she had to do.

She hung an illegal u-turn, almost hoping a cop would pull her over. But there was no one in sight.

She hit the gas petal perhaps a little too hard as she turned onto the highway on-ramp and just drove...to where, she had no idea. Somewhere away. Away from here...away from whatever was going on. She checked her rear view mirror. Jack had fallen asleep to the Disney songs and there was now a...white truck behind her with a woman behind the wheel. Good. It wasn't the same man in a blue car that she had seen earlier, not that it had been Foyet. At least she didn't think...Stop it, Haley, you're being paranoid. Was she? Really?

What she wouldn't give to call her ex-husband, to have him hold her in his arms and tell her he would keep them safe. He chased criminals all over the country but now when she was the one who needed rescuing...? He's gone, he couldn't come to her rescue like he had for so many others because he was... She blinked back the tears. She had to focus. Her life depended on it, Jack's life.

Find a public place. That's what Aaron would do, unsubs who planned ahead waited until their chosen target was isolated, watched their routine. As long as she stayed in a crowded, unfamiliar. She scanned the freeway signs, searching, searching. Perfect.

She let out a long sigh of relief as her plan fell into place.

Of one thing she was certain, as she carried her sleeping son into mall. Aaron would have been proud.


	2. Chapter 2

Haley rushed into the mall, tightening her grip on her son as her relief melted away. There were people here, lots of people. Well, of course, that was rather the point wasn't it? But if he couldn't see her, that meant she couldn't see...He could be anywhere. What if he'd seen her turn around? What if he'd stayed a few cars behind her so she couldn't...?

What to do? What to do?

She'd spent the last of her cash on the now useless cell phone which she dumped in the first parking lot trash can. She knew she couldn't use her plastic to buy a new one, those were traceable. Maybe she was over-reacting, maybe Marshall Collins was freaking out right now. Maybe she should just go get that cell phone out of the trash and do what she was told. Maybe? No, it was too risky. She had to check, had to be certain..She scanned the crowd, almost everyone had one...but no, she couldn't put any other innocent person at risk. Now what? If only there was...yes!

She may not have much cash on her but she had coins...enough for a payphone. She was amazed they were still around. Few and far between, but there it was. She hurried over to the phone and deposited the coins, calling the first number that came to mind.

Penelope Garcia bit her manicured nails as she scanned her screens. She had no data, no nothing other than a bouncing cell signal in the way too local Fairfax County. He should have been on his way to New Jersey, what in the world?

The phone rang. This was no time for dramatic flares. "FBI Tech Penelope..."

"Garcia?" The familiar and terrified whisper filled the room. It couldn't be...

"Mrs. Hotchner?" she whispered, hoping, praying her ears weren't deceiving her.

"Yes, it's me."

Garcia's shaking hands flew across the keyboards faster than she thought possible. "Stay there, we'll send agents-"

"Just tell me if there's a Marshall Victor Collins in the system. Can you -?"

A few clicks and..."There was. He retired 5 years ago."

"So then he wouldn't...?"

"No, he wouldn't have access to current cases and his plastic shows that he's in Miami right now."

"I've gotta go!"

"Mrs. Hotchner!" She knew that voice: Agent Rossi. "Where did he say to meet you?"

"At our old house." The line went dead.

There was less than a second of relief in the room before everything turned upside down, all eyes on Rossi who in turn looked to Garcia.

"Where is she?"

He hadn't dared ask that question before in case the call had somehow been intercepted.

"USA Mall...she was calling from a payphone."

"Okay, Morgan, go get Sam Cooper's team. Tell them to go to the mall. Then meet us in the car."

"Rossi, Haley's going to be paranoid, and rightly so. Maybe one of us..."

"Sir, I can I go with..."

"No. If Foyet is already in the house he may have surveillance on the team. He won't be tracking them. The rest of us have to stop Hotch." He was almost afraid of what Hotch would do if he got his hands on Foyet.

"Sir, I don't think Cooper's team has ever met Haley and they probably aren't familiar with the case. I have, I can find her faster. If Reid and I leave our phones here, then Foyet can't track them to the mall..."

"Can't you hack their security cameras?"

"No, I already tried. It's a closed system, I need to be there. Kevin can work my system while I'm gone."

Rossi paused halfway out the door. She was right. As long as they weren't traceable, there was no compromise. "Okay, both of you, your phones stay here. If I need you, I'll call Cooper."

"Guys, Hotch is calling Foyet."

"Okay, tap us in and get to the car. Let's go!"

"Already on it."


	3. Chapter 3

David Rossi sat in shotgun listening to the dialogue with a pit of dread forming in his stomach. Hotch may have said he wasn't frustrated and he certainly sounded that way. But Rossi and Morgan exchanged a look of alarm. They both knew Hotch better than Foyet and they both knew that wasn't the case. Hotch was being quiet, reserved. He wasn't talking quickly or tacking control of the situation. He was talking like a man trying desperately to hold onto his last once of patience. He was one step away from begging...and once Foyet got what he wanted...

He was too scared, too nervous to play this chess game properly. Could they blame him? Not at all.

Rossi fingered his phone. He wanted more than anything to end the call, to put Foyet on hold and tell Hotch it was going to be okay. It would feel like a 100 pound weight falling off of his friend's shoulders...but then Foyet might notice the change in his voice, might wonder why he wasn't calling back...If Foyet got any idea that Haley wasn't on her way? Well, they'd loose him and they weren't going to let Foyet get a second chance at this.

Speaking of Foyet: "You know what I've been thinking? Haley looks pretty good with dark hair. She's lost some weight, must be all the stress you caused her. So tell me? Does the little man like Captain America because of you? I've really got to go. See you soon."

The line went dead and Rossi immediately dialed Hotch's number. He had to be terrified.

"Hotchner." Gone was the calm reserved voice. He was on the verge of tears and they knew it.

"Aaron, you need to pull yourself off of the case."

"Dave, I can't-"

"You're emotionally compromised."

"He's got them!" He was loosing it, they all knew it. "He's got my family!" Foyet had stuck around to watch Shaunessey loose his mind and unless something changed he was going to get the same with Hotch.

"Aaron, you don't know that!" Calm down, buddy. Calm down.

"But he said -" A little boy liking Captain America could just be a lucky guess. But how? How else could he know that Haley had dyed her hair or that she'd lost weight?

"I heard him, Garcia tapped us in. He may have had surveillance photos of them. Remember how Sam moved them around? He might have gotten some pictures and they moved before he could plan. You didn't hear them, did you?"

"No."

"He likes control, Aaron. You know that. He'll scare you in any way that he can. If he had them right now, he'd be flaunting it in your face. He's trying to scare you, and it's working. We're almost there. You should turn around and go back to the office."

Go back to the office? He couldn't. "No."

"Aaron!" Dave's voice had lost most of its sympathy, now he sounded angry. "Do not approach Foyet without back-up. If you were ever going to make a fatal mistake... You can't think clearly."

"He's not getting away."

"Just stay at the end of the street, keep an eye on him. Okay? Do NOT initiate contact."

Surveillance. He could do that, maybe he could see Haley coming. Maybe he could still save her. "I'll...I'll stay until you get here."

He pulled in front of the Muller's house. He could see Foyet parked across the street from his house. Perfect. If Foyet made a move before the team got here, he'd be ready for him.


	4. Chapter 4

11 years he'd searched for this S.O.B and now that he was in sight...Aaron Hotchner clenched his fists, resisting the urge to what? To do anything really. Anything but sitting here doing nothing. What was taking so long? "Dave?"

"I'm here, Aaron." There it was, that calming tone that could cool his head in even the hottest case scenarios...even this one. "Just stay calm."

"You really think...?" He looked over at the house. The lights were off, but that didn't actually mean... "Dave, they could be in there right now."

"That doesn't matter. He isn't. You know that. As long as you don't lose him, you're keeping them safe."

He wasn't hurting them. He wasn't hurting them. "You really think they're safe?"

"That's what the evidence suggests."

"That's not an ans-." The sound of sirens filled the air, the cars turned down both sides of the street. "He's running for it!" He jumped out of the car, hot on Foyet's heels. He was NOT going to let him get away. Not again. Damn Dave and his paranoia.

Haley Hotchner took her change and her bag of Chinese take-out. Maybe some food would help her think. If she could just relax for two seconds so she could stop shaking. There was nothing suspicious about buying lunch, right? All she had to do was sit at the tables and wait for the team to come to find her on surveillance. She was fine, everything was going to be fine. She had kept the phone conversation short to avoid a trace and Foyet had never struck in broad daylight or crowds. She hadn't wanted to listen to his litany of kill details, but Kassmeyer had made sure she'd known that. There was no reason to think he'd start now. They were just another mother and son getting lunch at the mall. "Come on, Jack, we -Jack?" She glanced down...at nothing. "Jack?"

"Hannah Banks, please report to Lost and Found. Hannah Banks to Lost and Found."

No, No...Please, God, NO! Hannah Banks? That was her cover name. "Jack?!" Of all the days to lose him at the mall. He just wandered...that was all. He was holding her hand a minute ago. He had to be here. "Jack?!"

Aaron Hotchner ran faster than he'd ever run in his life, but Foyet was still ahead of him. He half expected Foyet to charge into his house, but he didn't. He ran down the street. His relief that it wasn't his home was short-lived. Foyet dashed across the lawn of the Miller house where he let himself in... without a fight.

What the Hell? No, No, please. No! Where the Hell are you, Dave?

David Rossi wasted no time as he saw Hotch and Foyet cross the lawn three houses down from Hotch's. "Kevin, call the residents of 3310 St Alban St and warn them. Foyet and Hotch are headed their way." Hopefully they could hide before...it didn't bear thinking about. Maybe they were all at work or school..but school could be getting out and while the driveway was empty, the garage was closed. Morgan slammed on the brakes and they all jumped out. Don't do anything stupid, Hotch...

Haley Hotchner scanned the crowded food court, willing her heart to stop pounding. "He's about four foot tall, blonde hair," she told the concerned crowd that had gathered around her. "He's wearing a Captain America -" Five sets of eyes were better than one. They had to -

"There!" There were times when having a set of eyes six foot high could really be advantageous. "Is that him? Right behind you."

Haley turned on her heels, pushing her way through the crowd in the general direction.

There he was, on his tip-toes trying to reach the display of pizzas. "Mommy, I want pizza."

She had never been so relieved to hold him up in her tired arms. She could rest tomorrow, but right now? Forget trying to act normal and blend-in. "Later, baby. We got to go." Forget waiting for the team to find her on the cameras. If they could find her, then so could Foyet. But where could she hide? The restrooms, of course...but that was obvious...he would just have to follow the signs. There had to be somewhere else less obvious.

Where are you, Haley?

Penelope Garcia may have preferred working alone, another genius next to her could be more than a little distracting, but today she wasn't complaining, especially not when Reid's eyes were scanning the screens at super human speed...but for all of their combined genius, they had...nothing.

"She's not here!" Garcia scanned the screens again, saw Haley walk into a department store and then...nothing. "We lost her." How would she face the Boss Man after loosing his wife?

"No, she's here. She has to be." Reid sounded way too calm. "We went straight to the time of the phone call 2:37 pm, followed her to the food courts..."

"...and then nothing."

"But there's been no sign of her leaving. She's here, somewhere..." He kept his eyes trained on the perimeter cameras. As long as Foyet hadn't arrived she was safe, terrified, perhaps, but safe

"Wait a second..." Garcia's awed whisper took him by surprise. Garcia was not easy to impress.

"You got something for me, Garcia?"

"Where is the one place a woman can hide from men and cameras without drawing attention?"

"Mall security's already done a sweep of the restrooms."

"I know where she is. Cover me."

"Wait, Garcia!" Reid hurried after her...at least he tried. Damn his broken knee. Cover her. Right. He turned back to the screens. He was a genius, wasn't he? A surveillance system couldn't be too hard to operate, right? He only had to keep track of Garcia and Cooper's team...and watch for Foyet at all of the entrances. Piece of cake...or maybe Garcia just made it look easy.

Penelope hurried out of the mall's sorry excuse of a cyber lair, making a very determined effort to ignore all of the sales signs. She'd have to take Haley on a complimentary shopping spree when this was over...that is if she ever wanted to step foot in a mall ever again.


End file.
